Prior Engagement
by Sing To Life
Summary: Fed up with their boyfriend's lack of commitment, the girls of Fairy Tail make a pact to get engaged or, so help them, they'll finally give up on their thick-headed idiots. Will they be able to get the guys to step up? Or will no one get the happy ending they wished for? Nalu, Gruvia, Gajevy, Jerza. Lots of Fluff and oblivious males.
1. Chapter 1

"Mira, you're so lucky..." sighed Lucy as she once again gazed longingly at the elegant diamond wedding band adorning Mirajane's left ring finger. It was absolutely stunning; the perfect size to complement her already gorgeously graceful hands. When she brought those fingers up to cup her face like she was doing then, the diamond seemed to immaculately match the bright sparkle in her eye. Adding that to the blush currently staining her cheeks, she was the ultimate vision of newlywed happiness.

"Of course she is. She finally got the guy she's been waiting for," Levy sighed, echoing Lucy's sentiment. Mira had just gotten back from her honeymoon with Laxus, and the girls of Fairy Tail had finally finished hounding her for details. All with drinks in hand, Cana, Lucy, Levy, Erza, Juvia, Lisanna, Wendy, Carla, and Evergreen surrounded the table at the center of the main hall. As the only one of their comrades they had seen married, Mirajane seemed to them a wealth of information to be used in their own pitiful love lives.

"AND he had the balls to actually put a ring on it," snorted Cana as the other girls giggled.

"Unlike some people we know," Lucy couldn't help but grumble, earning hums of agreement from around her. Slumping down to table level to set her chin on top of her arms, Lucy stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. "Those boys are lucky we kicked them out today so we could talk to Mira, or they'd be getting a big, fat earful right about now."

"Men have been and will always be pig-headed idiots," added Carla in her usual huffy manner. "I don't know why we even bother."

Mirajane laughed, "Because you love those idiots." All the girls with certain mages on their mind averted their eyes, blushing. They couldn't argue with that one.

After a beat of silence, Juvia burst into loud sobs. "Juvia doesn't understand why Gray-sama isn't in love with Juvia anymore!" Everyone seemed a little shocked by her outburst-Wendy and Lucy immediately consoling the bluenette between them, attempting to get her calmed down.

"Juvia, Gray still loves you! He really does!" Wendy piped up.

"We all know it! He couldn't love anyone more than you. Ever," added Lucy. "He's just... not thinking straight right now!"

"More like not thinking at all," muttered Evergreen.

Erza shot her a glare before speaking up, "I think we can all agree Gray loves you, Juvia. Just as Natsu loves Lucy, and Gajeel loves Levy." The two girls in question sputtered a bit and turned tomato red.

"And Jellal loves Erza," Evergreen smirked deviously in payback.

Turning the color of her hair, Erza otherwise ignored her, "Our boys just happen to have mischief on their minds instead of matrimony."

"But why! Juvia just wants to be with Gray-sama forever! How could he not want to be with _Juvia_ forever?" she sniffled.

Levy just sighed before leaning her elbows onto the hard surface in front of her. "Boys just assume we're gonna be here waiting for them forever. We're _their_ girls. To them, we've already been claimed by being their girlfriends and exchanging 'I love you's. That's good enough for them."

Hopeless silence met her remark for a few moments until Lisanna finally asked, "Mira-nii, how did you get Laxus to do it?"All the girls perked up at this question, eager to hear the answer.

All the attention on her, Mirajane looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling for a second before answering. "Well..." She paused. "I guess I just finally made it clear to him that if he wanted me to always be standing there waiting for him when he came back from beating himself half-dead, he'd have to make an eternal promise to me that he _would_ come back, no matter what it took. Because my life would be bound to his just as his would be bound to mine."

There was once again silence for a few heartbeats before Lucy and Levy broke out into shrill squeals. The rest of the girls had smiles decorating their faces as Cana thumped Mira on the back in pride.

"You certainly have backbone, I can give you that, " smirked Evergreen. Everyone laughed as the mood lightened considerably.

Suddenly, Lucy stood straight up, effectively cutting off the few lingering chuckles. All eyes were now on the celestial mage as they gave her questioning looks.

"You know what? We have backbone too!" Determination seemed to be written all across her face as she turned to gaze at each girl in turn. "We're the girls of Fairy Tail, and we don't settle for anything less than the best. I'm done dropping hints big enough to bury a dragon; these boys are thicker than Erza's armor when it comes to girls." Snorts and sounds of agreement rose from around her.

Levy chose that moment to interrupt, "Then what do you expect us to do, Lu-chan?"

Lucy just smiled at her best friend before continuing confidently, "I say we make a pact. By Christmas, we will all have gotten our boyfriends to propose, or we break it off with them."

The protests started immediately.

"Why would I want to break up with Elfman?!" Evergreen protested in horror.

"Yeah! Just because they're not getting down on one knee does not mean we want to break up with them!" Levy chimed in.

Lucy's smile didn't waver. "None of us do. But to get the boys to realize we're serious and to get _us_ one hundred percent dedicated, we have to go big or go home!" She shrugged before continuing, "If you don't feel like you're ready, you don't have to do it."

"Good, because I don't think I'm quite to that point yet with Elfman," admitted Evergreen.

"Me either. I feel like Freed and I just barely became a couple..." Lisanna agreed.

"Same with me and Romeo," piped up Wendy.

"You shouldn't be thinking about marriage at your age anyways," scoffed Cana before she shrugged, returning to the topic. "And I'm single so there's no way I can participate."

"As am I," Carla stated. Everyone just rolled their eyes at her open rejection of Happy.

The attention now turned to the three girls who hadn't spoken. Erza had a curious look on her face while Levy just stared uncomfortably into her cup. Juvia seemed ready to burst at any second into tears once more.

It was Erza who finally broke the anticipation, "I guess it really isn't a bad idea. Either way, I think it'll get the boys to open their eyes to what they have."

Lucy cheered in triumph before turning to the final two. "Levy-chan? Juvia?"

Shifting uneasily while avoiding Lucy's shining gaze, she asked the question that had been on her mind, "Do we really only have until Christmas? I mean, it's already the end of September..."

"Well... I guess we can stretch it to New Year's," Lucy said thoughtfully, reaching up to scratch the back of her head. "But, if they don't do it by the end of the holidays, I don't think they ever will. We've already given them over two years."

Levy could only sigh and nod her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she conceded before visibly shaking herself, setting her mouth into a determined smile. "I'm in!"

That was all it took to send Juvia over the edge. She instantly started blubbering and rambling uncontrollably.

"Juvia doesn't want to lose Gray-sama! Juvia is happy just being by his side! Juvia can't live without Gray-sama!"

"That's what marriage is. A promise to forever be by his side, 'Til death do us part,'" Mirajane smiled softly.

The crying stopped as Juvia sucked in a shocked breath. Her eyes went wide as she finally realized what that meant. _Hers_.

She practically sparkled as she nodded, fist raised to her chest in determination. "Yes! Juvia will do it! Gray-sama will be hers!"

Lucy practically glowed as she high-fived Mirajane. "Okay! The four of us-"

Cana raised her hand to stop the blonde. "Hey, what about us? We're not just going to sit here and look pretty while our nakama fight for their relationships."

"Yeah! I want to help!" Wendy giggled. "It sounds like a lot of fun!"

Lisanna's laugh joined Wendy's, "Romantic scheming? It's a girl's dream!"

"Obviously, they couldn't do it alone before. They're going to need our help. Am I right?" Evergreen raised her eyebrow in challenge at Erza across the table.

Erza just crossed her arms over her armor and nodded. "It would be beneficial to have other people in on it."

Levy nodded along with her, "You're right. All of us together will be unbeatable."

At this point, Lucy couldn't keep the giant smile off her face. "Are we all in?"

Everyone voiced their varying versions of agreement, turning to lock eyes with their closest female friends. Seeing the same sentiments mirrored back at them, they couldn't help but be confident in their success.

Offering her pinky into the middle, Lucy moved to make it official. Immediately, the rest of the girls had their own pinkies wrapped into a tangle of solidarity.

"By New Year's, Levy, Erza, Juvia, and I will all be engaged or so help us, we will immediately and forever be separated from our boyfriends. All others will do everything in their power to help their nakama achieve their goal. This we swear," Lucy invoked

"This we swear," everyone else echoed solemnly.

"Let's get to it!" A cheer rose as the girls set their plan to motion.


	2. Chapter 2

"What about this one?" Lucy prodded, holding up the slinky devil costume in front of her blue-haired friend. It was typical Halloween affair-cheap material barely even able to cover any of her more modest areas. Just imagining herself in it was enough to send Levy off blushing and sputtering excuses about how her chest would never fill it out or be able to keep it up all night. The blonde just giggled and returned it to the rack.

It had already been almost a month since the girls had gathered to make the engagement pact, and no progress had been made. Either the mages in question were always off on missions or busy preparing for the upcoming Halloween party the guild would be putting on. Even living together made no difference to the couples as each respective partner would be much too exhausted from their work to keep their eyes open long enough to grace them with a goodnight kiss let alone any sort of discussion. The whole topic seemed completely off the table until the celebrations were over.

Cana wrapped a black feather boa around Levy's neck before teasing her, "Come on! You know Gajeel would love to see you in something sexy!" Winking, she shimmied it down a bit to cover Levy's chest.

Levy squeaked before pushing the offending accessory away. "No way! Remember how well that worked out last year? I don't know why I ever let you guys talk me into that mermaid costume..." She shook her head. "Happy stalked me all night trying to get a bite of my tail!"

The two other girls laughed at the memory. When Happy had finally found a moment Levy's guard was down, she was announcing the start of the pumpkin pie eating contest. He took a giant chunk out of the back of her costume causing the whole thing to practically unravel. Poor Levy was left with a skimpy top and a quickly disappearing bottom in front of the entire guild. The girls had leapt to her rescue, but the damage had already been done.

"The worst part was Gajeel. He finished the contest before he even came to look for me. Then he just brushed it off like it was no big deal!" huffed Levy, crossing her arms to pout.

"You gotta admit, though, he was enjoying the view," Lucy teased as she put an arm around the blunette. "He didn't take his eyes off you for a second the rest of the night. Even after he gave you his costume's coat to cover up."

"I bet he wouldn't mind a repeat this year," chimed in Cana deviously. Levy shot her a dirty look as she continued talking. "I mean, come on! You're trying to get him to marry you! It won't hurt to show a little leg."

Levy shook her head in determination. "Nope. That's exactly the point. I'm trying to get him to respect me enough to make me his wife. Not..." she checked the tag of the costume nearest her. "His little sexy princess slave."

"Well, you aren't going to be a sweet little maiden forever if you want that to happen," smirked Cana. Levy blushed deep red while even Lucy went slightly pink in the cheeks.

"Fine! If I try one on, will you leave me alone?" Levy sighed before grabbing a costume at random and stomping off to the dressing room. Both girls cheered and high-fived while Levy grumbled about having sadistic friends. The other two grabbed their own costumes, laughing the whole time as they followed their friend.

* * *

An hour and plenty of tight leather later, the girls were walking happily arm in arm back to the guild, purchases in hand and large grins on their faces.

"So are you going to tell Natsu what you're going to dress up as?" Levy nudged the blonde next to her. "You know, so the two of you can match?"

Lucy made a disgusted face. "No way. He always dresses up with Happy then tries to get me to third wheel it in some ugly, old costume. I'm not going to waste my breath." She stuck her chin up before continuing haughtily, "He'll just have to be surprised."

Smirking a bit, Cana teased, "What? Are you trying to shock him down onto one knee?"

"As if," Lucy scoffed. "Maybe then he'll realize he can't assume anything about our relationship. I'm not just another Happy to follow along with his idiotic ideas."

"Well, seeing you in that costume will definitely clear up any misconceptions of you being a male for sure," Cana rolled her eyes.

Lucy flipped her hair and smiled. "My plan exactly."

By that time, the three mages had arrived at the doors to their guild. Pushing them open, they were greeted with the sight of hundreds of Jack-O'-Lantern's lighting up the hall while strings of paper ghosts and monsters decorated the walls. Sweet smells of homemade candies and spiced pies drifted out of the kitchen while happy laughter tinkled in the background. Their guild mates were running around everywhere putting the finishing touches for the following night's celebrations. It didn't take long for the girls to spot their friends as Natsu and Gray were once again in an argument over where to hang the cobwebs while Gajeel and Carla ignored them in favor of watching Erza and Wendy's game of cards.

Lucy dropped her bags next to the table before plopping down into the seat next to Wendy. "How long have they been at it?" she questioned half-heartedly.

"They started just after you guys left," informed Wendy with a sigh.

"I'm surprised they haven't destroyed anything yet," Cana noted as she sat down into the chair next to Erza.

"It's probably because Erza's here," giggled Levy, taking the open seat by Gajeel. He smirked, wrapping his arm around the back of her chair before leaning in to kiss the top of her head. Used to little things like this, Levy just laughed softly and scooted closer to cuddle into his side.

"How was your shopping trip?" Erza questioned without looking up from her cards.

Cana burst out laughing. "It was great! Wait until you see Lucy's costume. She's-"

Lucy slapped her hands over her friends mouth while hissing, "Cana! I said it was going to be a surprise!"

"Fine, fine," Cana sighed, slouching back in her chair. "Is yours a surprise too, Levy?"

"Yeah. I was just wondering that myself," Gajeel added. "Do I get a preview? Or are we just going to wait for the fun like last year?" he winked as he reached with his free hand to ruffle Levy's hair.

She blushed but crossed her arms in a show of poutiness. "No way. That is never happening again."

Gajeel guffawed at her mock-anger, pulling her even closer to his side. "I guess the show will have to wait until later then."

The rest of the table joined in his laughter at the expense of the furiously blushing solid script mage.

For a moment, they basked in the afterglow of their laughter as they watched Erza lay down a series of cards.

"What are you going to dress up as, Erza?" The wind dragon across from her inquired as she picked up one of the cards on the table, replacing it with one of her own.

"I made it very clear to Jellal that we would be dressing up together since this will be his first Halloween at Fairy Tail," Erza scrutinized her cards before sighing and laying them down flat in front of her. "You win Wendy."

The smaller girl cheered in triumph at being able to best the ex-quip mage as Lucy and Levy both started clapping enthusiastically at the small victory.

"Hey! What did I miss?" Natsu suddenly appeared behind his blonde girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her neck and laying his chin on her shoulder. His usual boyish grin broke across his face as Lucy casually reached up to entwine their fingers.

"What happened to Gray? Did you burn up all the decorations or something?" Lucy teased.

"No way! I've got the self-control of a dragon!" He flicked flames out of his mouth like a snake's tongue in demonstration. Unfortunately, it caught a piece of Lucy's shirt, burning a hole in the pink material. Lucy squealed and attempted to push the pyro off her. That just caused the fire mage to laugh raucously and plant a giant kiss on the fuming girl's cheek.

"Natsu! You idiot! Look what you did!" She practically yelled. "And this was my favorite fall top..." Her lip jutted out in a pout.

"You look better with it off anyways," winked Natsu.

"Oi, Natsu! Not in front of the kid," came Gray's voice as he joined the group, settling into the chair next to Lucy.

"Hey! I'm not a kid anymore!" came Wendy's cry of protest.

Cana ruffled her hair affectionately. "Now that you have a boyfriend, you're all grown up, right?"

Everyone laughed as Wendy blushed. "Yes. As a matter of fact, Romeo and I will be each other's dates for the party. We already have our costumes picked out."

"Aw! That's too adorable," beamed Lucy. Natsu had finally subdued the celestial mage enough to sit behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his head next to hers.

At some point, Juvia had appeared to sit on Gray's lap and was currently nuzzling as deep as she could into his arms. "Well, Juvia and I had our costumes picked out a week ago. We're gonna be lifeguards!"

Juvia nodded enthusiastically. "It'll give Gray-sama an excuse to keep his clothes off. And maybe if Juvia starts drowning, we can do mouth to mouth," she said dreamily.

The rest of the table gagged at the image. "Can we save the throwing up until after I've had a few drinks?" questioned Cana, shaking her head in disgust.

"You're just jealous Juvia has someone she loves. Unlike some people," replied Juvia haughtily, throwing a pointed look at Cana.

"You want to say that again?" Cana stood up and leaned towards Juvia, a menacing look on her face. "At least I'm not the one waiting around for some stupid boy to grow a pair," she scoffed, sitting back down. "I mean it's so obvious you girls just want them to-"

Lucy's hand smacked across Cana's mouth to stop her from blurting out their intentions. "Buy us more stuff!" Lucy forced out with a nervous laugh. The girls guiltily glanced at one another as they attempted to avoid the confused looks from the boys. Cana had almost outed their plan.

Faking a giant yawn, Levy attempted to switch the topic of conversation. "Wow! It's already so late! We're all going to need our beauty sleep for tomorrow! Don't you think?"

There were sounds of agreement from all around as Levy's yawn set off a domino effect. No one had realized just how tired the day had made them. The group disbanded gradually as people wandered off to complete last-minute tasks or turn in for the night. It wasn't long before Lucy and Natsu were the only ones left. Seeing no point in sticking around, Natsu began to silently pull a sleepy Lucy out of her seat. Complying easily, she let him guide her up and out the guild door, into the night.

* * *

Shutting off the lights in their room, Natsu climbed into the warm bed to cuddle up behind the already dozing Lucy. He nuzzled his nose deep into her hair, inhaling her unique scent of sunshine and summer days. A deep sigh of contentment escaped his mouth as he wrapped his arms around her thin waist and shut his eyes, ready for sleep.

"Natsu?" Lucy's timid voice broke the silence. Apparently his jostling had woken her up.

"Hmmm...?" He murmured into her ear.

She laughed as the vibrations tickled her lobe but sobered up quickly. "Do you think I would make a pretty bride?"

Natsu, halfway to dream world, pulled himself back as he caught the serious note in Lucy's voice. "Of course you would. You look beautiful in white. It would be like you were wearing Igneel's scarf."

Lucy deadpanned a bit at the un-sexy comparison. "I'd be wearing a dress, Natsu."

He laughed and dug his face deeper into her blonde locks. "I know. But it's funner to imagine you without it."

"I knew we couldn't have a serious conversation," she huffed. "Goodnight."

"Aw, come on, Luce," he whined, rolling her to face him. "You know I was just kidding."

She sighed. Of course she knew he was kidding, but he didn't realize how much it hurt that he never took the idea of marrying her seriously. Was this all just some big joke to him?

"I'm really tired, Natsu. Let's just forget I brought it up," she replied, shutting her eyes and nuzzling into his chest. For tonight, she could forget about all the talk of walking down the aisle if she could just spend the night next to him.

Tomorrow would be the day she would get him to propose.

* * *

**A/N: So, it's really late, and I really wanted to get this chapter up, so there's probably going to be some mistakes and errors mixed in. I promise I'll fix them when I get the chance! I'll also try and get updates up at least every other day, but we'll see as my sister is making me write an essay for her about dental school. Shoot me now. So sorry if the chapters are short as I'm trying to get them up fast with very little time on my hands.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows last chapter! It made me so happy to see you guys liked this story! I was thinking if it got enough good feedback, I would post a sequel about their weddings and then maybe pregnancies? We'll see :P**

**If you want, I'm taking suggestions for costume ideas! I know it's so not the season for Halloween, but dressing up seems to always get boys motivated so why not. Let me know in the reviews what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Lucy's alarm clock went off at eight the next morning, Natsu was already gone. Only a little bit of his usually overwhelming warmth lingered in the sheets next to the blonde. She unconsciously snuggled over to the the other side of the bed, burying her face in his pillow to breath in the comforting scent of smoke and spices. Lucy had picked out these sheets specially to match the unique shade of his hair and installed a heater blanket so when he was gone she could feel like he was nearby, waiting to jump into bed, tackle her, and kiss her senseless. There wasn't a better way to wake up than surrounded by everything that reminded her of Natsu.

Unless of course Natsu was actually there.

Obviously, this wasn't going to be one of those mornings, and it already had Lucy in a bad mood. She _really _didn't want to get out of bed, even if it was Halloween, one of her favorite holidays. Groaning, she smashed her entire face into Natsu's pillow hoping maybe if she ignored the sunlight in her eyes she could just sleep the day away until the party. There was still so much to do in the guild, and she had promised to help the other girls get into character. Maybe she could get Gemi and Mini-

No. She had promised to help. And she would. She would never be able to enjoy the party if she shirked her duties beforehand.

Rolling onto her back to stare at the ceiling, she let out a big sigh before pulling herself up off the plush mattress to prepare herself some sort of quick breakfast. Laying in bed had left her with half an hour until the time she had promised to meet Levi at the magic shop to get various types of lacrima for the party. It was originally supposed to be Juvia's job, but she claimed her magic would be better served helping Gray set up the frozen meat locker section of the haunted house. Lucy really didn't mind taking over for her friend if it meant Juvia could spend more time with her potential fiance-to-be. If it was the other way around, Lucy would have jumped at the chance for some alone time with Natsu since she really hadn't seen much of him in the past month. Even today he was off with Gajeel attempting to put the finishing touches on a giant iron dragon that would breath real fire over the heads of the spectators. Hopefully not setting anyone on fire.

After scarfing down a bowl of some generic grain cereal she found at the back of their cupboard, Lucy made her way into the bathroom to get ready. There was really no point in showering or putting on makeup today since she'd just have to redo it all later when she got into her costume.

Halfway through brushing her teeth, Lucy heard the front door slam open. The sound of rushing footsteps echoed across the house in the familiar pattern of her boyfriend's energetic frenzy. She took her time to finish brushing and spitting before wiping her mouth and opening the door to see what Natsu was up to.

Leaning on the door frame to the kitchen, Lucy happily watched him rifling through their drawers for a while before speaking up. "Morning, Natsu."

Said mage immediately whipped around in surprise, quickly hiding something behind his back. "Oh hey, Luce! I thought...weren't you meeting Levy?" he laughed nervously.

Lucy raised one eyebrow at him but chose to ignore his strange behavior. "Yeah. I'm meeting her in about," she glanced at the clock behind Natsu's head, her eyes going wide as she registered the time, "ten minutes. Crap. I gotta get dressed." Rushing back into the bedroom, she grabbed an old shirt and a faded pair of jean shorts she didn't mind getting ruined. Once she was done with what she had to do, she would probably get roped into helping someone else with who knows what, and it was best to be prepared. As she sat on the bed to pull on her oldest pair of shoes, she heard a crash from the kitchen.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she called out to him in concern. "Natsu? Did you break the stove again?"

His head popped out of the doorway momentarily, a giant grin on his face and a noodle stuck to his forehead. "Nope! All good in here! Nothing to worry about. No sir! Everything's fine!"

"Are you sure? I really don't want to have to clean up your mess today. I really don't have the time," she sighed, rubbing her own forehead. The day had just begun and she was already exhausted just thinking about it.

The noodle slowly slid off Natsu's face and onto the floor as he sensed her mood. He straightened up and made his way over, his smile fading a bit as his eyebrows dipped down in concern at the tense set of his girlfriend's shoulders. Gently nudging her over so he could sit down, he wrapped his arm around his usually smiley blonde and placed a loving kiss on the top of her head.

"What's up, Luce? What's got you so wound up?" he questioned, soothingly rubbing small circles up and down her arm.

Unconsciously, she had wrapped her arms around his well-muscled torso and buried her face into his chest. She couldn't help but sigh again, "I'm just... I just... I miss you."

"I'm right here, Luce," he murmured into her hair before backing up to smile down at her mischievously. "And we can spend the whole party together! Speaking of which..." He untangled himself from her grasp to run back into the kitchen, re-emerging a few seconds later with his hands behind his back.

"Oh no..." she groaned, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Ta-da!" he cheered as he pulled the costumes from behind his back. In his right hand, he held matching police uniforms, one full-sized and one mini-Natsu and Happy's costumes. But in the other, he held up a frumpy orange jumpsuit, fit for a man twice Lucy's size. "Cops and their prisoner!"

Rolling her eyes and making a mental note to give Levy a big 'I told you so' later, she grabbed her bag and started walking out the door. "Sorry, Natsu. I've already got my costume picked out. You'll just have to dress up without me this year." She glanced behind her and winked, laughing at Natsu's dumbstruck face as she closed the door behind her.

* * *

"Gray-sama! Juvia finished putting out the blood. Is there anything else Juvia can do?" the blue-haired water mage called to her boyfriend. It hadn't taken long for her to manipulate the dyed water into gruesome puddles, and she was hoping Gray had finished his task as well. Maybe now they could finally take a break and go on a romantic lunch date...

Gray suddenly appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and startling her slightly. He laughed as she jumped, blushing at having been caught daydreaming.

"We've been dating two years, and you still haven't dropped that bad habit, have you?" he nuzzled her neck with his nose.

Juvia's blush deepened at his open display of affection. "W-What do you mean, Gray-sama?" she stuttered.

Turning her around in his arms, he raised his eyebrow and smirked. "You know what I'm talking about, Juvia."

She averted her eyes as she tried to suppress her smile. "Yes, G-Gray."

Hearing her use his name without the honorific, he couldn't contain himself. He grabbed her chin and planted his cold lips right on top of her moist ones. Both of their eyes slid closed as they relaxed into the tender kiss. Juvia reached up to tangle her fingers in his frosty locks, pulling him as close as she could without taking the kiss into dangerous territory. Gray didn't seem to have any such thoughts as his hand lowered down her backside to her leg, pulling it up to rest on his hip.

All of a sudden, the door to the 'meat locker' was kicked in.

"What the hell did you do to the cobwebs, Stripper?!" Natsu yelled, fists raised and flaming.

It took him a second to register the scene in front of him. Shocked by Natsu's sudden appearance, the young couple had jumped apart causing Juvia to lose her balance and fall backwards into a big pile of meat while Gray had jumped backwards straight onto a giant meat hook leaving him to dangle by his shirt a couple inches off the ground.

Natsu's fire extinguished as he stared at the two in dumbfounded silence. "Uh...Maybe I should come back later..." He laughed nervously before turning and bolting. Gray was going to kill him.

"FLAME HEAD, GET BACK HERE!" Gray bellowed as he ripped himself off the hook, sprinting after the fire mage. "YOU'RE SO DEAD!"

Juvia sighed as she realized Gray wouldn't be returning any time soon. All thought of her had flown out of his head at the sight of his rival. She really didn't mind that much as she was used to such behavior by then, but it meant her lunch date was off. Again.

Picking herself out of the pile of goo, she did her best to pick off all the slimy pieces stuck to her dress. Once she was satisfied her back was no longer covered in red chunks, she made her way back into the main hall to look for some sort of meal.

It didn't take long for the smell of cooking food to reach her from the bar. Mirajane was currently setting steaming plates in front of Lucy and Levy who were laughing at something Lucy had said. Juvia's stomach growled at the sight, and she hurriedly made her way over to get some of her own.

"His jaw was practically on the floor! I was almost worried it was going to get stuck there!" She giggled. Juvia slid into the chair next to the blonde, nodding at Mira who set a plate of food in front of her without asking.

Lucy turned and smiled at her in greeting. "How was _your_ morning, Juvia?" she questioned slyly, knowing she had spent all her time with Gray.

Juvia blushed but smiled brightly. "Juvia had lots of fun with Gray," she practically glowed.

"Gray, huh?" giggled Levy, raising her eyebrow. "It's not Gray-sama anymore?"

Flushing even deeper, Juvia glanced away shyly. "Gray likes it that way. And Juvia will do whatever it takes to make Gray happy," she mumbled.

"Good for you, Juvia," Lucy exclaimed, wrapping an arm around her friend proudly. "That's just a sign you and Gray are getting closer than ever. Who knows, maybe a proposal is closer than we all thought," she winked.

"If Lucy's boyfriend didn't interrupt us every time we had alone time, that might be true," she sighed as she pushed the food around on her plate. The hopeless feeling in her chest had made her lose her appetite.

Groaning, Lucy smacked herself in the face. "I am sooo sorry, Juvia. Natsu is... Natsu."

"If that isn't the truth," came Cana's voice from the other side of Levy as she sat down next to the blunette. "Natsu is his own force of idiot."

"You can say that again," Levy giggled.

Lucy just shook her head and turned to grab Juvia's hands. "I'll make it up to you. How about some undisturbed Gray time at the party tonight? I'll keep Natsu busy," she promised, smiling hopefully.

"Juvia guesses that would be alright..." she blushed, looking down at her captured hands.

"Deal," Lucy laughed brightly, already forming plans.

* * *

Erza was really going to kill him. There was no way he would be able to keep his promise to be back by Halloween. And she was going to utterly slaughter him for it.

Sighing, he rubbed his covered face tiredly. For the last two days, he had been walking nonstop through the dessert on his way back to Magnolia. As a wanted fugitive, there was no way he could have taken any of the public modes of transportation and that left him severely limited when it came to travel. Because of this Erza had fiercely objected to the master's special mission for him as it was set to be finished the day before their big Halloween bash. For some reason, she had been fiercely determined to have him attend the party, even if it meant rejecting a handpicked assignment.

Something had been off with Erza ever since Mirajane had gotten back. Their relationship had always been more about emotional connection than open affection, but recently, she had been frustrated by his lack of initiative. This was a first time for them as they had always understood each other before almost intuitively. They knew each other inside and out; it was like they had seen past the armor deep within their souls and just...understood.

Even so, Jellal just couldn't figure this one out. Throughout the mission, he had been constantly wracking his brain to come up with some sort of way to make it up to her, but he had no clue exactly what more she wanted from him. He figured there was only one option left.

Fingering the object in his pocket, he lowered his head to the wind and picked up the pace, determined to get home in time.

* * *

**A/N: Would you guys like more couple stuff before the big party? I haven't really done too much Gajevy... Let me know.**

**Still taking costume suggestions!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Oi, shorty," Gajeel called. "Where are you?"

"I'm in here, babe," came Levy's muffled voice. Said mage was currently rifling around in the space beneath their king sized bed. Only her short little legs could be seen peaking out from under the flowery sham as she searched through the mess they called storage. Most of the time Levy kept a neat apartment, but Gajeel's version of clean was more 'out of sight, out of mind.' Instead of putting things back where they belonged like his girlfriend asked, he often just shoved them into the nearest closet. Levy had given up long ago trying to get Gajeel to help her out; it was all about choosing her battles with him.

Coming into the room, Gajeel took a moment to appreciate the view before crouching down to talk to her. "What the hell are you doing?" he questioned.

A box was shoved out from under the bed just as Levy began to wiggle her way back out. "I'm trying to find..." she grunted as her butt got stuck between the bed frame and the floor. She wiggled for a few seconds trying to get it unstuck before giving up. "Ugh. Can you help me out?"

Gajeel smirked as he moved to put a knee on either side of her legs in a straddle. Placing a hand on the back of each of her thighs, he teasingly started massaging his way up until he hit the hem of her shorts.

"G-Gajeel! You're supposed to be helping me! Not molesting me!" Levy squirmed about trying to get free from his wandering hands. "Stop it! This is definitely not helping!"

"Oh really? Because I think buttering you up is the best option," Gajeel responded deviously but pulled back none the less, settling back on his heels. In one yank he pulled her out from under the bed, rolling her over to face him. Her tank top was hiked up from the slide, revealing her creamy white stomach while her disheveled hair splayed out around her lightly blushing face.

He just wanted to eat her up.

But Levy had other plans. Sitting up, she straightened her shirt, brushing off all the dust that had accumulated. "I _was_ looking for the boots to your costume. But if you'd rather I didn't..."

"You know I would rather-" Gajeel smirked once again before being cut off by the blunette's finger on his lips.

"Nope. I don't have the time right now. I'm meeting the girls at Lu-chan's to get ready for the party," she laughed at his pouty look.

He wrapped his arms around her in response. "So that means later, right?" he murmured into her neck, nipping lightly at the skin there.

Pushing him away playfully, she laughed once more before untangling herself, grabbing the box next to her and lifting the lid. "Your boots are in here. The rest is in the closet. I'll meet you at the guild around seven so don't be late," she instructed, wagging a finger in his face.

He harumphed and crossed his arms in mock annoyance. "Yeah, yeah. I got it. I'll be there," he grumbled. She just laughed and planted a kiss on his rough lips before getting up and grabbing her purse. Pocketing her keys, she blew the still brooding iron mage a kiss and headed out the door to Lucy's apartment.

* * *

"Careful with that! You're going to get glue all over your costume," Lucy called to Juvia across the room. The water mage was currently trying to apply her own fake lashes, but the glue had practically exploded all over her hands. There wasn't anything Lucy could do to help her as she had her own hands full putting on Levy's lipstick. She had a feeling she'd have to reapply Juvia's makeup all over again before they even made it out the door.

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Lucy carefully finished filling in the corners of the outline she had drawn on Levy's lips in liner earlier. "And that just about... does it. You're done, Levy-chan!" she stated, leaning back to admire her masterpiece. Lucy had kept her friend's makeup light and natural, playing up her natural innocence with a gentle blush and understated eye makeup to leave the emphasize on her bright red lips. To her hair, they had added extra volume and shine but otherwise kept her hair in the same style to play up on her already youthful look. Her costume consisted of a virginal white shirt covered with a black corset and matched with a scarlet skirt. A blood red cloak draped over her shoulders and a small wicker basket on her arm completed the Red Riding Hood look.

"Thanks, Lu-chan," Levy hugged her friend, careful not to smudge her makeup. "I'll go save Juvia before she cries away your masterpiece," she laughed as she got up and headed over to the other side of the room.

"Lucy, where'd you put my tail?" called Cana's voice from the bathroom.

Sighing, Lucy got up to help her. "I think it's under my towel. Sorry," she responded as she entered the bathroom.

As soon as she opened the door, she got a face full of fur. Cana was already in her Big Bad Wolf costume, and Lucy had just run straight into her chest. There was no doubt she would be coughing up fur balls for weeks.

"Gah, Cana. Warn me next time your boobs want to assault me," Lucy gagged, trying to get all the fuzz out of her mouth.

"Not my fault you decided to walk right into them," Cana scoffed. "Now, tell me what you think." Turning in a small circle, she posed seductively with her tail out. She was wearing low-riding brown leggings with knee-high black stiletto boots while her top crisscrossed in a complicated mesh of fur-covered leather straps. Her makeup included a sexy black smokey eye, defined cheekbones, and a subtle pink lip to give her a dangerous hunter aura. To complete the look, she had curled her hair and put it up in a ponytail before adding the wolf ears. Overall, she was damn sexy.

"Wow! Cana, you look hot," Lucy gushed, grabbing her hands and smiling brightly.

"I know," she winked. "But now it's your turn." Grabbing Lucy by the shoulders, she turned the celestial mage around and shoved her back into the bedroom. "Erza, she's ready."

"Bring her here," the redhead commanded, turning in her seat to face the two. She was dressed up as a sorceress in a sexy purple dress slit high up both of her thighs and with a plunging neckline. Her arms, legs, and chest were covered in strange, satanic symbols drawn in what was supposed to look like blood. The dark red matched her hair which was up in an elegant bun and made her skin glow white while her dark eye shadow and long lashes cast a mysterious shadow over her face.

Lucy shrunk back at the sight of the devilish mage as she noticed the eyelash curler in her hand. There was no way she was letting her get anywhere near her eyes with that potential torture device.

"You know, it's fine, guys. I can do it myself," Lucy laughed nervously, backing away slowly.

"Nonsense. It is the duty of your nakama to make sure you look your best for Natsu tonight," Erza responded, getting up and forcibly placing Lucy into the chair facing away from the makeshift mirror they had set up on the desk. The concealer was already uncapped in Erza's hands, ready to be applied, by the time Lucy realized what was happening. In the meantime, Cana had made her way behind the chair to run her fingers through her silky locks. As Erza worked on the blonde's makeup, Cana would be styling her hair into the appropriate fashion for her costume.

Lucy just sighed, giving in to the two girls. There was no way she could escape now.

On the other side of the room, Levy had just finished wiping off the eyelash glue on Juvia's hands. "There you go. All done," she proclaimed, leaning back and smiling. "Now, do you want me to help you this time?"

Juvia nodded, sniffling. "Juvia would appreciate the help."

"No problem," Levy laughed as she reached for a new tube of glue.

They were quiet for a few moments as the solid script mage carefully arranged the lashes on Juvia's lids. Levy was the one to finally break the silence.

"Hey, Juvia?" she murmured, holding her finger gently over the lash she was currently applying.

"Yes?" said water mage responded without opening her eyes.

"Are you scared Gray...won't propose?" Levy pulled back her hand, allowing the other girl to open her eyes.

Blinking a few times to adjust to her heavier eyelids, Juvia took a few seconds before responding. "Juvia supposes she should be worried. But Juvia believes 100% that Gray loves her. And that gives Juvia hope."

Levy blinked a few times herself at how straightforward and simple the answer was before laughing. All day, she had been anxious, worrying that if Gajeel didn't propose tonight, he never would. She had thought maybe Juvia would be sharing her doubts as both of their boyfriends seemed to be more reserved when it came to sharing their feelings.

But Levy knew Juvia was right. If she didn't trust in Gajeel completely, then even if he did propose, she had no right to say yes. Doubt had no place in a relationship bound for marriage.

Levy nodded. "I'm glad. Gray really doesn't know just how lucky he is to have you, Juvia."

Juvia just blushed in response, raising her hands to her cheeks to try to hide it as Levy laughed. Getting up, the water mage walked over to the mirror to admire the finished look.

She barely recognized herself; the girls had entirely redone her look. Starting with her hair, they had relaxed the usual straight-to-one-large-curl style into beachy waves surrounding her face. Her face was made to look sunkissed and natural with bronzer and minimal eye makeup while her already full lips were emphasized with a light pink lipstick and a top layer of gloss. When it came to her costume, she was decked out in a one-piece red swimsuit complete with a whistle and sunglasses. The look was completed with little white shorts stamped with a red 'LIFEGUARD' on the butt that made her legs look impossibly long.

Juvia's eyes started tearing up as she turned back to Levy. "Juvia is so thankful to you girls."

"Don't you dare cry! Or you'll ruin it!" Levy laughed, coming over to embrace her friend. "But you're welcome," she smiled before turning to the girls by the bed. "Are you guys almost ready?"

"Yes. She's done," Erza replied, leaning back to show off her work.

Surprisingly, Lucy hadn't suffered any major wounds from the usually violent mage. She actually looked really good. Her usually large and innocent eyes were rimmed in a dark black liner extending out into a cat eye that made her gaze now scarily intense. Along her cheekbones, Erza had carefully applied a deep red blush and contouring bronzer to streamline her face. The lipstick shade was a few shades darker than Lucy's natural hue but was kept light to not overwhelm her already painted up face. Cana had pinned her hair to the side in a wavy sweep like an old Hollywood movie star before adding a black top hat. Her costume consisted of a black strapless bra-like top and matching black booty shorts and fishnets. Over the top was a red and gold, one-sleeved band-majorette-type coat hitting and cinching up right at her thin waist, leaving her flat stomach bare. Matching red pumps on her feet and her whip at her side finished the ring leader look perfectly.

Levy's eyes went wide as she stared at her best friend. "Oh, Lu-chan! You look great!"

Smirking, Cana flipped her hair, "Told you so."

"Yeah, yeah, you guys did a good job," Lucy admitted grudgingly, earning cocky smiles from the two mages who had made it happen. "Now, are we all ready to go?"

The girls all voiced an affirmative before gathering up the rest of their belongings. Meeting at the door, they took a moment to share each other's excitement before heading out.

There was no doubt this night would be one they would remember for a long time to come.

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter is the big party! And one of the girls will end it with a ring on her finger ;)**

**Review who you want to see the first proposed to!**

**Oh, and I promise there will be a heck of a lot of Jerza in the next chapter since there hasn't been a lot of opportunity for it yet...**


	5. Chapter 5

The guild hall was a vision of magnificence. Walking in, the mages were met with a haunting scene; corpses, cobwebs, and puddles of blood covered nearly everything as they were washed in the soft glow of candlelight radiating from the mass of candelabras lining the walls. Disembodied voices seemed to drift about on the chilly breeze weaving about the room with a life of its own as occasionally, small bat-like creatures swooped down to cause mischief by stealing food, pulling on girls' tops, or dropping things on boys' heads. All the tables had been pushed to the sides to make enough space to dance around the giant bonfire burning in the middle of the floor.

On the other side of the hall, the bar had a much more homey feel. The counter top was packed full of various types of party foods and alcoholic drinks spaced out between bouquets of gorgeously vibrant fall leaves. Everything from mini pumpkin pies to an entire turkey was laid out ready for consumption by the bottomless pits that were the Fairy Tail mages. By the end of the night, every crumb would be consumed, and every drop of alcohol would either be in or on someone.

The haunted house made up the back halls of the guild with each corridor having its own theme. Gray and Juvia's meat locker was only one of thirty or more different scenes ranging from a deranged circus to a haunted nursery. Rather than manning them all night, the scares were magic based and run by various lacrimas that would activate as soon as anyone came within reach. Otherwise, the halls were equipped with anti-magic materials to prevent the mages from destroying the fun in a moment of fright. They had learned that the hard way one year after the night ended with everyone encased in ice after Gray had been scared by one of Natsu's more over-the-top traps.

By the time the girls arrived, the party was in full swing. Raucous laughter mingled with the upbeat tunes of the band as couples spun around the dance floor or sat talking at one of the tables.

Giggling, Wendy, dressed in a white and blue cheerleading outfit complete with pigtails and pom-poms, ran past them as she was pulled along by an equally white and blue football player Romeo. Over in the far corner at one of the tables, Evergreen was decked out in complete green fairy regalia, her large wings and sparkly green mini-dress complementing Elfman's mountain man green shirt, brown boots, and bow as she lounged on his lap. Mirajane and Laxus were equally as charming in their matching vampire/damsel costumes as they spun around the dance floor gracefully, Laxus' simple red and black cape and dark tuxedo a stark contrast against Mirajane's elaborate eighteenth century gown in hues of white and pale red pastels. Even Makarov was dressed up in a hilarious little gnome costume complete with a blue shirt, brown belt, and pointy red hat.

The girls hung back by the doors for a few moments scanning the crowd for their boyfriends. Nothing really stood out to them until Erza spotted familiar pink hair at a table in the far corner of the room. She gestured to the other girls to follow her as she set off into the crowd. They wove their way around countless guild members laughing and dancing before they made it to their destination.

At the table, Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Happy, and Carla were all passing drinks and sharing horror stories. By the number of empty bottles, it seemed they had been there for a while already and were already deep into their celebrations.

"Hi, everyone," Levy greeted with a smile as she sat down next to Gajeel. He was dressed up as the huntsman to Levy's Red Riding Hood with an open green and red flannel shirt with the arms ripped off, black pants, and brown leather hiking boots up to his knees. Next to his chair, a real axe made of iron rested up against his knee threateningly. Somehow, he was even more intimidating than usual next to his sweet and innocent girlfriend, but she didn't feel frightened at all. She had to hold herself back from running her fingers up and down his exposed chest as the boys said their greetings to the girls.

Juvia was having an even harder time as Gray had pulled her onto his lap. It didn't help that his lifeguard uniform only consisted of red swim trunks, sunglasses, flipflops, and a whistle dangling over his chest. Her eyes were caught by the hypnotizing movement of that whistle as he laughed at Happy's attempts to get Carla to stop watching Wendy and Romeo dance and pay attention to him. Sure, she had seen him naked plenty of times before so this really wasn't something new, but being in such sexy water gear made him ten times more attractive in Juvia's mind. If that was even possible.

On the other side of the table, Natsu was lounging back with his arm around Lucy, a giant grin on his face. He had on his police uniform, but it was sexier than Lucy had first imagined. Instead of pants, he wore navy shorts that reached just to the top of his knees, hugging his muscular thighs closely. The matching short-sleeved top was just as tight across his toned chest, revealing hints of skin as the top buttons were undone. Across his hips was slung a thick black belt that matched his shiny black boots and the brim of his navy hat. Handcuffs completed the look as they dangled off his belt loop to twirl seductively in the light.

"So, boys, what do you think of our costumes?" Cana asked, whipping her tail around seductively while smirking. None of the guys had yet to voice their opinions, and Cana knew someone had to get the ball rolling.

Lucy smiled at her friend in thanks before giving Natsu her best sexy look, peaking up through her eyelashes and biting her lip. Natsu didn't even look as he replied, "They all look really cute! Right, Happy?" He turned to his buddy smiling.

Happy, dressed up in the same outfit as Natsu, looked intently at Carla in her Egyptian princess costume. "Aye," he stated solemnly.

Sighing, Lucy resisted the urge to slam her head into the table. All the effort she had taken to look her absolute sexiest was wasted on the idiotic fire mage. He had only looked at her once since she sat down, and even then, it had only been a quick glance. Maybe Lucy's sex appeal had really disappeared.

"Well, I'm pretty sure Levy over here is way more than cute," Gajeel smirked down at Levy, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "She's hot."

Blushing, Levy smiled up at him. "You aren't so bad yourself, stud muffin."

Never one to let Gray loose a competition, Juvia piped up,"Yeah, well, Gray is even more than hot! Gray is even beyond sexy!"

"You're one to talk in that swimsuit," Gray laughed, running his hand along Juvia's legs draped across his lap.

Soon, everyone (but Lucy who was busy making a dent in the table with her head) was fighting about whose costumes were the sexiest. It all stopped though as a high-heel came slamming down onto the table making them all jump.

Erza stood with one leg on the table and the other on her chair, hands rooted to her hips, and a glare on her face. "Enough! I am obviously the most splendid creature here!" she laughed evilly. The rest of the mages chuckled nervously, sliding out of their chairs to stealthily run away from the ex-quip mage radiating dangerous waves.

Grabbing onto Lucy's hand, Natsu led her away from the others and into the crowd. She followed along silently, still a bit peeved by his lackluster response to her costume. Her lip automatically jutted out in a pout as she was pulled along through the mass of sweaty bodies and onto the dance floor. He twirled her in a circle before grabbing her waist and pulling her close, smiling down at her. After two years of practice, Natsu had really gotten good at partner dancing and took advantage of that fact whenever he could. He just loved seeing Lucy's flushed smile as he spun her around like a princess.

Even so, Lucy just didn't seem to be enjoying herself. His smile faded a bit as he noticed her pouting lips as she avoided looking him in the eye. It was obvious she was mad at him, but he was clueless.

"Luce, what's wrong?" he asked, grabbing her chin to force her to look at him. She glanced at him once before studiously looking past him.

"Come on, Luce. What did I do?" he tried again, instead pulling her to his chest and burying his face in her hair. Breathing in her scent, he rubbed circles on her back soothingly as they gently swayed back and forth to the music.

Lucy sighed in defeat; he knew exactly how to play her, and she was nothing but putty in his hands. "Do you really think I'm just cute?" she finally mumbled into his chest.

As soon as her words registered, Natsu burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he tried not to fall over. Lucy huffed and turned to walk away but was stopped as Natsu grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug. His body shook against hers as he attempted to reign in his laughter, wiping his eyes as tears leaked from his eyes.

Pushing against him, she attempted to get free, embarrassed by his unabashed laughter at her expense. "Natsu, it's not funny!" she stated angrily, feeling her own tears start to form at the corners of her eyes. She furiously wiped them away before they could turn her makeup into a streaky mess. "You just don't get it. You're such an idiot!"

"You're right," he chuckled, finally calming down. "I was being stupid." He grinned down at her sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "I didn't think you would care that much. Otherwise, I would've told you then."

Lucy's brow scrunched together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I didn't want to say anything with the other guys around 'cause I'd much rather tell you when we were alone," he admitted, staring deep into her dark brown eyes. "But, you looked so amazingly sexy. I just wanted to keep you to myself."

"Then why wouldn't you look at me?" Lucy huffed, looking at her hands on his chest.

He laughed, pulling her close as he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "I didn't think I could control myself if I watched you for too long."

A shiver went down Lucy's spine as his breath tickled her neck. She understood where he was coming from but was still reluctant to forgive him right away. "You could have at least said something better than cute," she grumbled.

"You're right," he smiled his typical Natsu grin as she lifted her eyes up to his. "You always are."

Lowering his head, he captured her lips with his own briefly before twirling her once more and sweeping her back into the dance, their laughter echoing behind them.

* * *

As Natsu was leading Lucy around the dance floor, Gajeel was scoffing at the cheap tricks in the haunted house. He and Levy were currently in the asylum section, making their way through the blood soaked hospital beds. After the haunted woods, Levy had refused to let go of his arm. She had been frightened half to death by a giant spider falling from the trees to land on her hair, causing her to practically jump on top of Gajeel.

Truthfully, he didn't mind playing her protector. Not that he thought Levy was weak or cowardly but rather that that was the area in which he excelled. Even as he took pride in his strength, he would immediately tell anyone who asked that Levy was the brains of their relationship. Both of them would openly admit to their shortcomings only because the other one was there to pick up the slack.

"G-Gajeel, is that moving?!" Levy suddenly pointed with her free hand to a wheelchair slowly rolling across the hallway.

"Uh, yeah," Gajeel replied, watching as it slowly came to a stop next to a fallen dresser.

Trembling, Levy hid her face behind his bicep. "That's so scary!"

Gajeel just rolled his eyes at the pathetic scare tactic before continuing down the hall, dragging Levy behind him. They weren't even halfway through, and Gajeel knew if they stayed standing there too long, Levy would just scare herself more. "Come on, shorty."

It wasn't until they hit the end of the hallway that they anything more tried to scare them. They were passing through a section filled with shelves on which sat jars filled with various goos and liquids. Levy had slightly relaxed upon seeing the exit but still wouldn't let go of the death grip she had on her boyfriend's arm. Still extremely wary, she almost sighed in relief when Gajeel reached out his unoccupied hand to open the door. Before he could even touch the handle, the shelves around them exploded. The jars had suddenly turned into spontaneous bombs, sending glass and juices flying like shrapnel. Levy screamed and covered her head, ducking awkwardly to the side to try to avoid the worst of it. Gajeel automatically threw himself over her, using his body as a shield while throwing his arm out to retaliate with his own attack. Since his magic had been cut off, though, this just served to put him closer to the danger.

After a good thirty seconds, the final pieces of glass dropped to the floor with a tinkle. The couple warily looked up at the now empty shelves, ready to duck back down if anything else decided to spontaneously commit suicide. Gajeel rose slowly, pulling Levy up by the hand as glass crunched under their feet.

"Gajeel! You're bleeding!" Levy exclaimed as she saw the blood dripping down his arm. The back of his shirt had been shredded as well, resulting in numerous shallow cuts all over his shoulders and upper back.

"So are you," Gajeel grunted, raising his hand to a deep cut just above her eyebrow. Her hands sported similar cuts to the ones on Gajeel's back, but she was otherwise unharmed.

Levy ignored his concerned gaze as she leaned down to rip the bottom off the already too-short skirt of her costume. Balling it up, she gently probed the wounds for glas before applying pressure to the more nasty looking cuts in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Gajeel remained silent, only allowing his lips to twitch occasionally in pain as she took out the larger pieces of glass.

It took a few minutes before Levy backed away sighing, her makeshift rag covered in blood. "That's all I can do for now. We need to get you to the infirmary to get the rest of the glass out and stitch up a few of these deeper ones," she stated while wiping her forehead distractedly, effectively smearing blood down the side of her face as she accidentally drew her hand across her own cut. "Ouch!"

"I told you," Gajeel sighed, rubbing his own forehead. "Now stay still."

Reaching down for the hem of his shirt, he ripped the bottom off his own costume. He had borrowed it from Elfman, but at that point, he really didn't think the manly mage wanted it back. Roughly, he copied what Levy had done earlier, curling the scrap into a ball and shoving it against her head where the bleeding was coming from. She winced but otherwise didn't comment as she reached up to take the material from him. Once he was sure she would leave it there, he let go.

"What the hell was that anyways?" he grunted at her. "Wasn't this supposed to be safe?"

She patted thoughtfully at her head with the cloth before answering. "Someone must have put too much magic into their trap. It's happened before. I bet Wakabe set it up just to rattle around a bit but overdid it, causing this," she gestured around with her free hand to the mess around them. "I'm surprised no one else got hurt." Pulling the material, she checked how much blood was on the cloth before returning it to her head. "Well, I guess it doesn't matter at this point. I just need to go back and warn them while they get you sewn up."

Gajeel just nodded and grabbed her other hand, opening the door behind them and pulling her through.

Her gasp stopped him as he attempted to lead them out of the dark hallway and into the next. Looking back, he saw that she was standing on only one foot, the other raised off the floor in a show of injury.

"I must have tweaked it when the first explosion happened," she explained with a mixed expression of pain and embarrassment on her face. "I tried to dive to the side, but I kind of tripped..."

"You're hopeless," Gajeel sighed, letting go of her hand to run his own through his hair. If she wouldn't have fussed over his injured arm, he would have just swept her off her feet right then bridal style. Instead, he wrapped his free arm around her waist and hoisted her over his shoulder.

She squeaked in surprise, caught off guard by the suddenness of the action. "Gajeel! You're going to make your injuries worse! Put me down!" she half-heartedly banged her fists on his back for a few moments before sighing. "Really, you can just leave me here and go get Wendy to patch you up. You're hurt a lot worse than me."

"Yeah right, babe. Like I'd leave you hear to scare yourself to death without me," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "So just shut up like a good damsel and let the dashing hunter take care of you."

Levy sighed once more before giving up and letting herself be carried. Gajeel carried her in silence through the remaining hallways filled with various scares (that now looked pathetically wimpy in Levy's eyes) until they reached the end where they emerged at the far end of the guild hall.

Expecting Gajeel to put her down now that they were out, Levy started to squirm around in an attempt to get down. It was no use though as the much larger man had her in an iron grip. He didn't so much as loosen his fingers as he walked over to Mirajane at the bar.

"Where's Wendy?" he asked abruptly, causing Mirajane to jump slightly before looking up.

Her eyes went wide as she took in Gajeel's bloody arm and Levy waving shyly at her from over his shoulder. "What happened to you two?"

"Someone got a little too excited making traps in the haunted house," Levy replied, completely embarrassed by her position. Her butt was practically in Mirajane's face. "That's why we're looking for Wendy."

Mirajane giggled a little. "Something's got to happen every year. Or else this wouldn't be Fairy Tail, right?" she smiled at the two. "How about I go grab Wendy while you guys go lie down in the infirmary? I'll go grab her right now and make sure no one else goes in to the haunted house until we clean it up."

Levy breathed a sigh of relief before smiling. "Thanks, Mira."

"Be back in a sec," Mira smiled back before running off in the direction she had last seen the air dragon slayer.

As soon as she had left, Gajeel turned them towards the back rooms. They walked in silence once more as he carried her to the infirmary.

The room was empty when they entered-an unusual sight for such a rowdy guild. Often times, the numerous hospital type beds were at least half-filled as the members were patched up after returning from missions or finishing fights. Both Gajeel and Levy had been their often enough over the years to know how lucky they were to get some semblance of peace and quiet.

Setting Levy onto one of the beds, Gajeel easily lifted another one off the floor to set beside hers. He plopped down next to her before using his good arm to pull her close, shutting his eyes as she curled up to his side in response. Even then, neither one wanted to break the silence that had comfortably wrapped itself around them.

Levy's own eyes were just beginning to drift closed when she felt Gajeel nudge her with his chin.

"Oi, shorty, you okay?" he spoke in his gruff voice.

She turned her head upwards to meet his eyes before smiling. "Yeah. I'm fine," she responded.

His eyes crinkled around the edges as he gave her his own smile. "Good. Wouldn't want you to wimp out on me."

"Never," she laughed before bringing her hand up to cup his cheek. Pulling him down to her level, she connected their lips in a sweet kiss filled with all the gratitude she felt towards him. He responded in kind, putting in his own relief at her safety.

They both smiled as they pulled apart, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. "I love you," she whispered to him.

"I love you too, shorty," he whispered right back.

Closing their eyes, they both fell asleep wrapped in the embrace of the one they loved.

* * *

On the other side of the guild hall, Juvia wasn't having quite as much luck in her love life.

After escaping from Erza, Juvia had followed Gray around the hall as he greeted, laughed with, and talked to just about every member of the guild. She had held back, still not quite comfortable around such large crowds of people. Most of the time when at functions like this, she would just grab onto Gray's arm and act as his shadow for the night, silent but constant.

Tonight though, Gray seemed to be shining too bright for her to get close. Everyone seemed to be calling out to him, attempting to get his attention to 'come drink with them!' or 'sit down for a while!' It definitely didn't help that the red of his trunks contrasted nicely with his pale white skin to give him a slight flush that Juvia was definitely appreciating.

Of course, it wasn't like Gray was ignoring her. Every time he noticed she wasn't at his side, he would look around until he found her, dragging her back to his side with a firm arm around her shoulder. She would then blush and wait until his hands became otherwise preoccupied before slowly edging away again. After about the fifth time, he learned to keep his arm around her, holding her in place despite her constant squirming.

This close to him, she felt she might just burn up in his light and be lost forever.

It was a good hour before Gray pulled her aside, slightly worried by her behavior. Sure, she was shy, but she hadn't been this bad since her first few months at the guild.

"Juvia, what's up? What's got you so fidgety?" he questioned, his brows pulling together in concern.

She wrapped her arms around herself in a mock hug as she stared at the fire in the center of the room. It was burning a lot lower than when they had first arrived, casting everything in a romantic twilight that had couples sneaking off to corners to be alone. She wished more than anything to be one of them, but she could never bring herself to act so normally around Gray. Back when she thought she had no chance with him, she had boldly expressed her fantasies knowing that it wouldn't make a difference to how Gray felt about her. But now, she scrutinized every little thing she did before doing them in an attempt to keep him from suddenly realizing just how out of her league he was.

"Juvia is not fidgeting. Juvia is happy to be here with Gray," she smiled rather unconvincingly as her dark thoughts continued to swirl around her head.

He rolled her eyes at her pathetic attempt before grabbing her arm and leading her to an empty table nearby. Sitting her down, he took the seat next to her, turning in it so he could face her straight on. His hands captured hers in their strong grip to keep her from playing with her fingers while he looked deep into her eyes.

"Okay, tell me what's wrong," he ordered. "Why are you trying to run away from me?

Never one to deny him anything, she reluctantly spilled. "Juvia doesn't deserve to stand next to Gray. Gray is so nice and good and strong and-"

Gray cut her off with a kiss. Letting go of one of her hands, he threaded it through her wavy hair, pulling her close. Her eyes automatically slid closed as she relaxed into the kiss, reveling in the chill radiating off him. It wasn't long before he pulled her into his lap, putting each of her legs on either side of his own in a straddle. She in turn wove her now free hands into his dark locks.

Before it could turn into a full makeout session, Gray pulled back to look at her. "Juvia, I wouldn't have been with you all this time if I didn't think you were the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me. I mean, all that stuff you see in me is because you bring it out." He scratched the back of his head and laughed a little, "Yeah, I know it took me a while to realize it, but I couldn't love anyone else more than I love you."

Juvia's mouth hung open in shock. Sure, he had told her he loved her before, but he had never been quite so open about his feelings.

"J-Juvia never realized how much she meant to Gray..." she mumbled, blushing and looking down at her lap, her hands entwined behind his neck starting to fidget.

He laughed as he nuzzled into her neck. "You're my world, Juvia."

The weight on her chest she had been feeling ever since she had gotten there seemed to lift at her words. Instead, waves of confidence and love flowed through her as she smiled down at him. "And Gray is Juvia's," she whispered back to him before leaning down to initiate a kiss of her own.

In that moment, they couldn't be happier.

* * *

Erza was still sitting at the table, brooding into her drink, when Jellal arrived.

It was ten minutes to midnight, and still the party was going strong. The mages were deep into the stores of alcohol, most of them already on their fifth or sixth drink. There was no shortage of laughter echoing around the hall as tricks were played and treats were devoured.

From the beginning of the night, Erza had held onto hope that maybe Jellal would make it, but as time went on, her faith dwindled. She knew she should have just accepted that he wouldn't be joining them and joined her nakama in their celebrations, yet something held her back. There just didn't seem to be any fun left for her in a night she had dreamed she would spend wrapped in her boyfriend's strong arms.

It seemed everyone could sense that Erza just wanted to be left alone. No one tried to approach her or drag her off to dance. Mirajane was the first one to venture anywhere near her the entire night, and that was just to refill her drink.

Sighing, she looked around at the other guild members all locked in their own happiness. There really wasn't a point for her to stay any more if she wasn't enjoying herself. Maybe she would just head home and take a hot shower to get all the makeup off before turning in early for the night.

Taking off her heels, she got up and stretched as she considered grabbing the strawberry cake she had been eyeing on the bar counter. It was then the guild doors opened for the first time in hours. Everyone who was supposed to be there already was, but she figured someone had just left to get some fresh air. Thinking nothing of it, she turned her thoughts back to the delectable cake but decided against it as she wouldn't really appreciate it in her bad mood.

Instead, she turned to the doors intending to leave but stopped dead when she noticed who had just walked in. There stood Jellal dressed in his disguise as Mystogan. Ripping off the dust covered cloth over his face, he looked around in search of his girlfriend. It took him a second to spot her staring at him in shock across the room. Immediately, he walked with purpose towards her, gently pushing people to the side who stood in his way.

People were starting to notice by now that something was going on. Those closest to the door had stopped what they were doing to stare in silence at Jellal as he made his way towards Erza. The hush slowly spread through the hall as more and more people picked up on the serious atmosphere, the crowd parting to allow the blue-haired mage clear passage to his girlfriend.

As soon as he reached her, he drew her into a tight hug, tucking his face into her hair to kiss the top of her head. "I missed you, Erza," he breathed. By now, the guild was completely silent as everyone gazed on with giant smiles on their faces.

"Jellal, you made it back," she stated, slightly shocked. It took her a second to realize she wasn't dreaming-he was really there right in front of her, holding her in his arms.

Pulling back, he looked down at her, a smile on his face just for her. "I had to. Or else this really scary S-class wizard was going to kick my butt," he laughed.

She echoed his laughter with her own. "You're right. I would've kicked your ass all the way into next year."

They took a few seconds to just revel in each other's presence before Erza realized everyone was still watching them. Opening her mouth to shout at them to get pack to the party, she stopped as Jellal covered her mouth with his hand. "Not yet. I want to share this with everyone," he whispered before drawing back and smiling. Grabbing her hands in his own, he dropped onto one knee in front of her. There were gasps from the crowd as those people who hadn't yet guessed what was going on, figured it out.

He was proposing.

Erza herself was speechless, gazing down at her love in shock. Despite the pact she had made with the girls, she had never figured it would actually happen. Jellal had always been content with where they were in their relationship, and she was happy to just go along with it. Marriage had just seemed so far off to her-something out of a fairy tale. Certainly not her life.

"Erza Scarlet, the day I met you, I fell in love. You were so wonderful, so beautiful, so strong. Every word you spoke to me just made me fall even deeper and deeper into devotion to you. But I also made a mistake," he stated, gazing deep into her eyes. "I was wrong when I chose your last name."

The tears were already starting to leak from Erza's eyes. She was overwhelmed by all the love she could feel radiating off the man who held her heart. Nothing could make this moment better.

"It shouldn't be Scarlet. It should be Fernandes," he smiled broadly, pulling a ring box from his pocket. "Erza, will you marry me?"

There was no hesitation as Erza immediately replied with all the joy she felt in her heart. "Yes!"

* * *

**A/N: This is so unbelievably long, but I wanted to get in some of every couple! Especially the Jerza since ya'll requested they be the first ones :)**

**Let me know if you guys want long chapters like these less often or shorter chapters more often.**

**Also, leave a review if you see mistakes cause it'll be a while before I go back to read all this. I just want to get it up already!**


	6. Chapter 6

By the beginning of the holiday season, the snow still hadn't started to stick. It was already the 18th of December, and the mages of Fairy Tail were beginning to lose hope for a white Christmas. Usually by this time, they'd be dragging Natsu out of his winter "hibernation" to melt paths through the chest high snow drifts while Gray froze an ice-skating rink out back. There would be endless nights of noses dripping into cups of hot chocolate as everyone laughed raucously at Lucy's latest face plant in the snow. Even Laxus would get in the mood by lighting their nighttime sledding adventures with little exploding lights that popped and fizzed like sparklers. It was a time of celebration that everyone looked forward to all year.

This seemed to particularly depress the girls of the guild. With only one of their nakama guaranteed a wedding, they had been planning to use the romantic atmosphere of the holidays to their advantage. Nothing says "pop the question" like a walk underneath the twinkling Christmas lights of town as hands are kept warm wrapped in another's, frosted breaths mingling in a halo around flushed cheeks and shining eyes.

Obviously, that wasn't going to be happening any time soon if the weather did not cooperate.

So when Makarov announced it was about time they went to find a tree, there weren't a whole lot of volunteers. No one felt ready to admit yet that Christmas would arrive in less than a week, white ground or not.

"All of you are just being lazy bums," the master grumbled, staring out across the gathered mages. "Not an ounce of excitement among ya. At this rate, even if it did snow, it would take another month to get any of you even remotely interested."

There were half-hearted mumbles of agreement from around the hall. Natsu was the first to speak up, "Aw, come on, Gramps. There's no way anyone could get fired up when everything's so dead around here." In example, he lit up his hand and watched it fade out sadly.

Gray nodded his head in agreement, crossing his arms. "Yeah. What's the point of pretending to be all pumped up about Christmas when it's so depressing just to think about it?"

Ever the optimist, Lucy piped up, "Come on, guys! We can still make this work! There's no need to skip out on Christmas just because it's a little too colorful around here!" She huffed, frustrated by everyone's lack of enthusiasm. To her, this wouldn't just be a flopped holiday-this was a personal affront on her love life. If she couldn't follow through on any of her plans, she would come out of the new year not only single but friendless. Both Juvia and Levy would undoubtedly hate her for making them break up with their own boyfriends.

All because of her stupid pact idea.

Well, it wasn't like she had any way of knowing one of the most romantic times of the year was going to be a total washout. When all their other plans over the past few months had fallen through, they hadn't given up hope because they knew Christmas was right around the corner. Now they might as well dump their boyfriends right then and there as there was absolutely no hope of getting those thickheaded idiots to wake up and smell the wedding cake.

But the girls weren't going to give up yet.

Levy stepped up beside her friend, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Lu-chan's right. Since we can't do anything to change it, we might as well make the best of the situation."

On the other side of the room, Erza leaned against the bar, her elegant diamond and ruby engagement ring flashing as she crossed her arms. Jellal had left once more only a few days after proposing to her, but she hadn't minded for once. She knew he would come back now that he had shown his deep dedication to her. "Moping achieves nothing. It will neither bring the snow nor make any of you magically enjoy the season. So you all might as well suck it up and help the master."

Everyone seemed to shrink back in embarrassment at Erza's scolding. It was so much easier for them to whine about the problem than do anything about it, and they had all fallen prey to the trap of laziness.

Gajeel's loud laugh broke the silence. "It's about time someone said something. I was starting to think that if I stuck around here too long, your funks would get to me. But now I'm really pumped!" He threw back his head once more to laugh, moving to stand by his girlfriend.

"Yeah right," came Cana's voice from a nearby table where she was draining another barrel of booze. "You were just as bad as the rest of us. Except you don't get moody-you get PMS."

There was laughter all around as Gajeel bared his teeth at the brunette. Just as he opened his mouth to retort back, Levy cleared her throat and gave him a look that said now-is-so-not-the-time. Grudgingly, he closed his mouth and turned away, sulkily. It wasn't often Levy was serious enough to put her foot down, but when she did, he knew he had to listen or else he would get the silent treatment until he could make it up to her.

Natsu and Gray immediately started snickering at the couple's display, nudging each other and making whip motions to the dragon slayer. Gajeel just pulled his teeth back and growled at them, not daring to do any more with Levy's watchful eyes on him.

"Like you two can talk," Cana scoffed at the two frenemies as she leaned back on her arms to raise an eyebrow at them. "You're just as bad as he is."

That instantly shut them up, both of them blushing slightly and turning away, knowing that they couldn't possibly argue with that one. Everyone else broke into heavy laughter as they watched the two cockiest mages of Fairy Tail admit defeat at the hands of their relationships.

"Oh, shut up!" Natsu retorted to the laughing guild members around him as he tried to hide the growing pink on his face.

Chuckling along with everyone else, Lucy wrapped an arm around Natsu's waist. "It's okay. You're the only one I want to boss around," she reassured, planting a kiss on his cheek. Almost automatically, he put his own arms around her skinny shoulders and pulled her close. She just giggled as everyone else rolled their eyes, their fun spoiled by the couple's mushiness.

"And Juvia would gladly let Gray order her around any day!" Juvia suddenly appeared in front of Gray, her arms out in a defensive pose.

Lucy sweatdropped as she reached to gently pat Juvia on the arm. "I feel like you're misunderstanding this a bit..."

"Anyways," the master interrupted from the front as Gray slung an arm around his girlfriend, whispering something in her ear that made her blush and pull her hands in to cover her heart. "I think it's about time we assign some duties if we are going to make this Christmas a success. Any volunteers?"

"Gajeel and I can get a tree," Levy offered, raising her hand to be seen in the crowd.

"Carla and I will make decorations to put on it then!" Wendy stepped up next to Levy.

"Leave the snow to me and Juvia then!" Gray proclaimed, smirking down at his girlfriend who was nodding along with him.

Natsu glared over Lucy's head at the ice mage. "Why are you just doing that now, ya ice block head?!"

Gray met his challenge with a glare of his own. "Because I just thought of it, flame head!"

"The whole town could be covered by now if you had thought of it sooner, blizzard breath!"

"We're doing it inside. It's would melt right away if we did it outside, smoke brain!"

"If you were a real wizard, you could do it, snowflake princess!"

"I don't see you doing anything, ass blaze!"

"I don't see you _wearing_ anything either, frosty stripper!"

Gray looked down and cursed. In the middle of their verbal battle, he had somehow lost all his clothes once again. Juvia, though, was currently wrapped around his nakedness, attempting to shield his body with her own, all while shooting death glares at any female guild member who happened to look their way.

"Juvia will protect Gray's innocence from the dirty eyes of her love rivals!" Juvia proclaimed, holding herself even tighter to Gray's naked form.

Prying himself from Juvia's grip, Gray leaned down to pick up his clothes, effectively mooning everyone watching. Natsu hastily covered Lucy's eyes and growled indignantly as Juvia attempted to once more shield her boyfriend's butt. In the attempt, she accidentally tripped and sent Gray tumbling to his butt on the floor with her landing face-first into his chest. She was able to catch herself with her hands before she crushed anything important, but her body was lodged between his open legs in a most seductive pose.

"Well, we all know who wears the pants in their relationship," snickered Natsu as laughs erupted around them. Both Gray and Juvia blushed bright red as they realized how compromising their position was.

As Gray scrambled to find his clothes, Lucy finally pried Natsu's hands off her eyes. "Come on, Natsu. Like I haven't seen it before."

"Doesn't mean I want you to see it again," he pouted, allowing her to move his fingers only to not let go of her hand. He turned back to the front and shouted at the master, "Hey, Gramps! Lucy and I are going to make some Christmas cookies." With that, he pulled her into the crowd of their friends and headed towards the door.

Before he even made it halfway there, he heard Erza call to him, "There'd better actually be some cookies made."

He turned to look at her through the crowd and winked, flashing one of his signature grins. "There will! You just might not get any!" He laughed and disappeared out the door with Lucy one step behind.

* * *

**A/N: Super short chapter, but I wanted to get something up. I was gone on vacation for a week, and I'm about to leave again so I thought I'd at least give you guys something!**

**Another chapter will be up next week! Promise.**


	7. Chapter 7

Levy had always been an admirer of nature-the way the wind gently danced through the pine branches, making the sunlight sway on the ground as it shone between each of the needles, creating lacy patterns on the ground; the subtle noises of life as the small animals foraged, hunted, and played in the undergrowth around her; and the gentle scents of both decay and new life, swirling around her. It was a place she could always find peace when either her emotions or thoughts seemed to be spiraling out of control.

When she had volunteered Gajeel and herself to get the tree, she had been excited to share such a beautiful day with him. Sure, the trees around them were bare and the ground a dead brown color, but she felt that getting away from the guild would allow them some much needed one on one time. She hoped they might even take some extra time to find a nice little clearing to warm up again in each other's arms as they reveled in the rare silence.

If only.

Being told what to do had put Gajeel in a fowl mood. He hadn't stopped grumbling about it since the moment they left the guild. By the time they had even gotten to Fairy Hills to change Levy's flats into her hiking boots, Levy was just about ready to punch knock him into the thorny rose bush on the side of the path. Too bad that would only make his complaints louder.

"You know, Gajeel, if you didn't want to come, you didn't have to. I could've done it myself," Levy grumbled as she blew her breath into her chilled fingers in an attempt to warm them up. Even with the scenery looking more like fall than winter, the temperatures were icy, especially with the sun refusing to make an appearance from behind the clouds.

"Yeah right. You wouldn't have even been able to cut it down. Like hell you would've been able to carry it back," he scoffed, shoving his hands into the pocket of his fur lined winter jacket. They were only to the edge of the forest at this point, but they were already half frozen.

Levy leveled a glare at her boyfriend over her pale fingers covering her nose and mouth. Her response was muffled when she replied, "I'm not helpless, Gajeel. I can take care of myself."

Gajeel just rolled his eyes. "When it comes to making a strategy, yeah. But I'm the one who carries them through, right?" He smirked down at her as he slung an arm around her shoulders. "Admit it, shrimp. You need me."

Pissed, she immediately twisted out of the embrace, taking a step to the side to leave some space between them as they walked. "This isn't a joke," she scowled as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked off into the forest.

Rubbing a hand over his face in exasperation, he sighed. "What is it now? Get it out."

She stopped walking and turned to face him with a glare. "What is it _now_?! First, you call me weak and incapable. And now, you're acting like I'm being dramatic for no reason? I don't just try to make life hard for you!"

"Yeah, well, you're doing a pretty damn good job of it," he growled back, stopping as well to return her glare with one of his own. To Gajeel, this was nothing new; she was always riding him for something or other he had done that she hadn't approved of. But this time, he wasn't going to just lay down and take it.

Obviously, neither was Levy. "Really? Because the way you talk about me, you'd think I wasn't capable of that either," she shot back, her eyes practically scorching with anger. It wasn't often she actually got angry, but when she did, hell hath no fury like Levy scorned.

"So I'm the bad guy, huh?" Gajeel laughed humorlessly, moving to put his face right in front of hers.

Levy held her ground, not flinching under his glare. "You're the one who said it, not me!" she was practically yelling now.

Eyes narrowing, he raised his volume to match hers. "Then if I'm so bad, I guess I'll just leave all this good guy crap to you!" He turned and started walking back the way they'd come, shoving his clenched fists into his pockets. "Come find me when you want to admit I was right."

"Don't hold your breath, asshole!" she shouted after him before grabbing some small rocks at the path to chuck at him. His heightened slayer senses easily allowed him to dodge, but her aim was so terrible, he didn't even have to move.

Catching one of the smaller ones between his thumb and forefinger, he flicked it back at her without turning around, hitting her right in the middle of her forehead. "Try again when you can actually throw, sweetheart," he laughed loudly as he rounded the corner, moving out of sight.

As soon as he was gone, Levy screamed in frustration and kicked a nearby boulder, bruising her foot and setting her hopping around in pain. Her whole body was shaking, and her fists were curled into tight balls of anger.

She had been mad at Gajeel before, but never quite like this. He had hit her right where it hurt the most-in all her insecurities. It was a low blow, even for him, and it was taking all of her strength not to break down sobbing. She had believed he really cared when she had finally worked up the courage to confide in him all her self-doubts, but obviously, he had just been laughing at her the whole time.

Her whole heart ached knowing someone so precious to her, someone she loved so much could hurt her so bad. And it practically broke her pride to know someone had that sort of power of her.

Collapsing onto the ground underneath the nearest tree, she pulled her legs up to her chest and sobbed. She really was worthless.

* * *

By the time Gajeel arrived back at the guild, he had cooled down quite considerably. It hadn't really been Levy's fault that he had gotten so upset; he had been in a foul mood since he had gotten up that morning. Last night, his sleep had been plagued by nightmares of Metalicana wounded and dying in some far off country he hadn't yet searched. He had woken up in a cold sweat, his heart racing as a rare tear rolled down his cheek.

Trying not to wake Levy sleeping beside him, he had slowly gotten up and padded across the carpet to the sliding glass door that led onto the balcony. He figured the cold night air would clear his mind and dispel the leftover remnants of his nightmare.

Even though they had been together for two years now, the couple hadn't officially moved in together yet since Levy had liked her apartment at Fairy Hills too much to give it up yet. Since Gajeel obviously couldn't move into the girl's dorm, he had purchased a house near the guild big enough for the two of them. Most nights he was home, she would stay over with him, but when he was gone, she would stay back at her own place as she would miss him too much if she stayed in that big bed all alone.

After being outside for more than an hour, he wasn't feeling any better. The only change it had brought was the tingling sensations that had started in his bare feet. Giving up, he reluctantly went back to bed to try to get some sleep before Levy got up.

After a couple more hours of tossing and turning, he had gotten up when the alarm clock went off, determined to go about his day like nothing was bothering him.

But that had meant all of his frustration built up throughout the day had been taken out on Levy when it had boiled over.

It wouldn't have even been that bad if he hadn't slipped into his old habit of striking out with the things he knew would hurt most. Back when he was in Phantom Lord, that had been his automatic defense mechanism, and he found he often had to catch himself before he accidentally lashed out at one of his nakama. This time though, he knew his mouth had run away with him before he could get it under control.

He would have turned around and apologized as soon as he had calmed down enough to think straightly, but Levy's comments kept running through his head. She had left him feeling like perhaps her view of him wasn't as positive as she let on.

There seemed to be a part of her that was still afraid of him, still wary of his evil side, still beaten up and nailed to a tree. Because of this, she was always holding back, not fully trusting him to complete his role as muscles and guardian in their relationship. It seemed like she had assigned herself to watch him to make sure he never slipped back into that darker part of himself.

He really hadn't wanted to believe it, but from what she had said, he couldn't help but doubt. That caused enough hesitation to keep him from crawling back and begging for her forgiveness.

For once, it was her turn.

* * *

As storm clouds brewed between their friends, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy were cooking up something much more delicious.

It hadn't taken the trio very long to make it back to Lucy's apartment after their declaration at the guild, but an hour later, the oven was still cold and the ingredients were still in the fridge.

The holdup seemed to lie completely in the stubbornness of the three friends. While Lucy was attempting to win over the two boys with descriptions of melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter blossoms, the other two were fiercely sticking to their own choices. Natsu was stubbornly covering his ears and yelling about cut-out sugar cookies lit on fire as Happy circled the kitchen singing about chocolate chip fish crisps.

It was enough to make Lucy's head explode.

"Okay!" she yelled, throwing a hand up to get Natsu's attention and stop Happy in his tracks. "This is getting us nowhere!"

"Lucy's getting mad! Soon Demon Lucy will appear!" Happy called, flying over to hide behind Natsu. "I'm scared of Demon Lucy! She's scary. And ugly."

Resisting the urge to smack the exceed into next week, she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Why don't we just pick a random recipe and make that?"

Natsu looked pensive for a moment as he sat in a chair by the table and scratched the back of his head. "I guess that'll work...But nothing minty!" He crossed his arms over his chest, displaying his stubbornness. "Only the ice panty princess likes mint."

"Whatever you say," Lucy conceded, sighing at his childish behavior. "Do you want to pick it then?"

"You know it!" he grinned at her. It took him less than a second to make it across the kitchen to grab the cookie recipe book out of the cabinet over the fridge. Bringing it to the opposite side of the island counter from Lucy, he set it in down with a thud. Happy joined them, settling on top of Natsu's head to allow himself a good view. Locking his eyes with Lucy's brown ones, he stuck a finger into a random page and tossed it open.

"Spritz?" Happy asked, looking across at Lucy questioningly.

Turning the book towards her, she scanned the recipe. After a second, her eyes lit up in recognition. "I remember these! They're a buttery kind of cookie, I guess, that you squeeze out of like this tube shaper," she tried to explain, illustrating the tube with her hands.

The other two stared at the celestial mage blankly, obviously not getting her meaning.

She sighed and pointed to the ingredients list. "You guys just get all this stuff together while I see if I can find the squeezer thing."

"Aye!" the two chorused, mock saluting. Lucy just rolled her eyes and left the kitchen to look in the boxes in the bedroom closet.

She planned to be as quick as she could since she didn't want to leave the pyro mage alone with her stove for any longer than she had to. Heaven knows he would burn her apartment down in an instant if given the chance.

Too bad she had to be right that time.

* * *

A/N: Gosh, I'm sorry this is so short. But I had really bad writer's block for a while so i'd just rather give you guys a little something while I work on some longer stuff. I can tell you now, though, the updates are going to be slower as I'm leaving for vacation this weekend and then going off to college on the 30th. I'd really appreciate patience :)

But reviews definitely make me update faster ;)

Lots of Love to you all! And to my Jerza fans, I will still give them some lovely moments even if they're already engaged :P


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